outside is better

Sermon Preview: A First Word on Last Things

I am pretty odd. I know that. I like bigfoot. I could eat catfish every meal. My favorite book of scripture is Revelation.

Yep, that book. The scary one. The one the ruddy faced street preacher always hollers about.

This month I begin a series at St. Paul's called "Leaving Left Behind Behind". I am hoping to really show how Revelation doesn't serve as an escape plan, but an exercise in continually focusing on Jesus Christ as the center of everything.

There is hesitancy surrounding the book of Revelation and many times it is simply ignored...which then creates greater hesitancy. It is important because how Revelation has influenced our own lives, how we think about mission, politics, and so much of popular culture revolves around ideas that have been brought about through people reading it. The last few years have been a pattern of predictions of the end and we are coming up on a pretty big one in just a couple of months.

G.K. Chesterton, a british writer and theologian said this...”Though St. John saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators”

With that, let's jump into the scriptures

4 Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.”

^2-6 I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.

^6-8 Prowling around the Throne were Four Animals, all eyes. Eyes to look ahead, eyes to look behind. The first Animal like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with a human face, the fourth like an eagle in flight. The Four Animals were winged, each with six wings. They were all eyes, seeing around and within. And they chanted night and day, never taking a break:

Holy, holy, holy
Is God our Master, Sovereign-Strong,
The Was, The Is, The Coming.

^9-11 Every time the Animals gave glory and honor and thanks to the One Seated on the Throne—the age-after-age Living One—the Twenty-four Elders would fall prostrate before the One Seated on the Throne. They worshiped the age-after-age Living One. They threw their crowns at the foot of the Throne, chanting,

Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God!
Take the glory! the honor! the power!
You created it all;
It was created because you wanted it.

 

Talking about Revelation: Developing an Eschatological Hermaneutic

 I have written before about how local churches need to engage with Revelation. To some, this might be an insurmountable task.

The character of Revelation makes an auditory involvement necessary. In country terms; We need to HEAR Revelation.

Those in the company of preachers must learn to call the church to its eschatological dwelling place.  In the enterprise of the earthly church taking Revelation back, local pastors serve both as truck drivers and road crew.  We direct the energy as well as take care of the movement so that the laity can travel alongside. Intentionally preaching eschatologically means a deliberate admonition of the end that comes across as assured as the deliberate notions of beginning. Our role is to theologically play the childhood game of “connect the dots”. We are story-tellers, not date-setters.   

As pastors we must tell people about the other world,  living in the the subversive act of preached hope. Instead of romantic historical meanderings that lament morals gone amuck, we focus on preached time. Preached time creates the path to New Jerusalem.  This alternate narrative answers the question of who really is in charge.

Whenever I teach Revelation to a new group of people, I start with a question. It goes something like this; "I am going to let you make a decision as to how we will read this book and how I will teach it to you. We can either let Revelation be a book that only pertains to a distinct group of people at only one time in the history of the world or we can read it as though it has informed the church for 2000 years and will continue to speak to us."

I have never had a group take option A. Even if they are hardcore Left Behinders, the second choice just sounds better. If teaching Revelation freaks you out, let the congregation make the first choice. Present to them a basic reading strategy. It will allow you to stay away from so many testy issues.

Revelation doesn't work in a passive setting. We have to be intentional and deliberate with it, but shouldn't we with all scripture?

Related Posts:
The Apocalyptic Pastor
Preaching, Mindmapping and the Apocalypse of John
Christian Time and the End of Times

Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall ever be, world without end.

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This is a repost from a blog I ran for a few years postmoderneschatology.com. I have decided to merge that content in with this blog and will occasionally post from its archives.

Advent 2011 Readings

Advent is my favorite season to design worship for.  Every year I combine different Advent resources I find and try to share them. Today, I was putting all of the lectionary readings into a document for my design team and I figured I would share them with you. I have a few additional thoughts in there as well. You can download this booklet Download Advent 2011 or just use it through scribd.com. Feel free to share this with others. Have a great season of worship.

 

If you are looking for even more Advent resources, check out the entire category.

 

Advent 2011

Worship Wednesdays: A bit of Old and a bit of New

I like to use plenty of scripture when I design worship. Years ago, a mentor suggested learning to weave the larger story of scripture in services. Instead of leaning on one longer reading, find several related pieces of scripture and use them throughout the service. This was great advice. I want to show you one of the ways that I do this.

One of my favorite academic resources is the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament from Baker Academic Press. This book looks at the usage of Old Testament passages in the New Testament. It does so much more than simply list, but gets into the theological reasoning behind why these passages relate. The book shows the "quotations, allusions and echoes" that are found in the New Testament. One of my favorite writers, G.K. Beale, edited the book and it is a huge resource.

But we aren't writing an exegesis paper...we are designing worship. Here is how I used the book this week when planning worship for my community.

I am preaching from 1 Peter 2:2-5 on Sunday. I knew that I wanted to use more scripture to serve as the call to worship, an additional scripture reading during the praise set and perhaps even the benediction.

1Pet. 2:2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—
1Pet. 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
1Pet. 2:4  Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and
1Pet. 2:5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (NRSV)

D.A Carson (who wrote the section on 1st Peter) notes three main OT reflections for my scripture; Ps. 118:22-23, Is. 8:14-15 and 28:16. These images deal with the "stone" imagery found in verses 4-5.  Peter also utilizes Psalm 34 in the language of "calling, tasting and seeing." As you see, there are plenty great images already built in the main scripture for the sermon. I wanted to enrich those images.

Ultimately, I settled on Psalm 34:5-6 for my call to worship, and took it out of the NLT.

Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
         no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened;
         he saved me from all my troubles.

For the additional scripture reading I chose Psalm 118:22-24, also from the NLT.

The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

I made these decisions after thinking how the specific language of these pieces fit in congregational worship. I decided to save the Isaiah passage (28) for the sermon. When it came time for the benediction, I ultimately decided to use another piece from 1 Peter 2 (2:9-10) that helps continue the scriptural path Peter has laid out.

Books like these are a great resource to worship designers who design services around a sermon title and text. For churches wanting plenty of scripture in the service, resources like this book help build a strong theological thread through worship. One of my main goals is getting people participate in the narrative of scripture. This service fit the bill!

Search for resoures that help you find these larger themes of scripture. It can be a wonderful addition to your toolbox.

Worship as a Preview of Heaven

Sermon: Whose Story are you following?

I was asked to preach the Easter Vigil at Asbury Seminary a few weeks ago. It was a huge honor to occupy that pulpit. We have not had a vigil since 2005, and I was surprised they asked a student, much less me, to preach the service. I tried to use several of the texts that were read that night, but drew most of my inspiration from Ezekiel 37 and Romans 6.

I love participating in services like the vigil. The dramatic nature of Christian worship draws the participants out of the temporal and gives us visions of the eternal.

Easter vigil sermon

Worship and the Language of Home

A few weeks back I drove back to Louisiana for some meetings and to spend some time writing. It is about a 12 hour drive and I drove it in one day, as I usually prefer. About 15 miles into Louisiana, I get of the interstate and drive for two hours down a two lane highway in soybean and cotton country. Darkness had just fallen and I had the windows down taking in the full affect of the smell of rural north Louisiana. For years I lived on the road, and moments like these are my favorite. I get to think and process more than anywhere else.

This trip really signaled the end of this season at seminary and the beginning of re-entering vocational ministry. It was a great time of prayer and thanksgiving.

With my ipod on shuffle, this Tom Petty song hit the rotation. I was struck at the multiple metaphors I found:

Tom Petty: Southern Accent
There's a southern accent, where I come from
The young'uns call it country
The yankees call it dumb
I got my own way of talkin'
But everything is done, with a southern accent
Where I come from

Now that drunk tank in Atlanta's
Just a motel room to me
Think I might go work Orlando
If them orange groves don't freeze
I got my own way of workin'
But everything is run, with a southern accent
Where I come from

For just a minute there I was dreaming
For just a minute it was all so real
For just a minute she was standing there, with me

There's a dream I keep having
Where my mama comes to me
And kneels down over by the window
And says a prayer for me
I got my own way of prayin'
But everyone's begun
With a southern accent
Where I come from

I got my own way of livin'
But everything gets done
With a southern accent
Where I come from

This song is about those separated from home and the task of integrating into a place as a foreign resident. Home never leaves our heart. My thoughts quickly moved from sentimentality to how this describes the Christian in worship. In the world, we have a patterned lifestyle that doesn't make sense. We have particular ways of saying and doing things contrasting to the accent of the world.

For worship leaders and designers this makes us ask some questions. Are we leading services where people are just interacting with this world? Do we lift up our actions or God and His actions? How do we celebrate how God keeps his promises, in this life and the next?

Worship becomes the place were we feel at home. It's like making a favorite family dish when separated by hundreds of miles. In worship, we configure the space of an eternal dwelling with God in the midst of a world in need of redemption. Every piece of our lives serve as an example of the place we call home; the place we are headed back towards. In worship we are at home. We are with our people and with our Father. We simplify the complex relationship that happens in the here and now.

While outside of worship, we should have an accent that gives us away

 

Is Congregational Worship Necessary?

I stumbled upon this blog post tonight. The pastor is explaining why his church will disband weekly worship in favor of an extremely intense discipleship ministry and a once a month large meeting.

Some of it sounds really good. He hits the nail on the head regarding several issues. For those that have a heavy heart for missions and the justice of God his language really fits into the movement that the evangelical church has been going towards in correcting some of its inclusiveness and narcissistic ways.

 But I think this is a great example of doing all the right things completely wrong.

 

Can a church that doesn't worship truly be the church? Before you go wild on me, read the whole post. The pastor gives the idea that the actions in worship aren't formational enough to be important.

I am not saying we do away with them, but we preach and sing too much and serve and love in radical ways far too little.  The answer is not to add love on top of the sermons and songs, but to decrease the sermons and songs and increase the service and love to create a balance that looks like the life of Jesus.

John Wesley notes that good works are only possible once a vibrant and intense relationship with Christ exists in the heart of the individual. His sermon  The Almost Christian speaks about justice being evident to those who still haven't turned their hearts over to Christ. Justification by Faith  mentions that the things of love cannot truly be done in the name of Christ unless we have we have directed our own entire love to him. Finally in his sermon, The Way to the Kingdom, Wesley really develops this by explaining how our good works are only truly righteous when they spring from the inward spirit that is truly only devoted to God.

 I don't mention these things to question the faith and salvation of these folks, but to plead for worship. Hebrews 10:25..."Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The eschatological makeup of the Church in worship lives with the expectation of the return of Christ.

 When the worship meeting becomes an evangelical outreach only, I would agree with many of the reasons for an evaluation. But worship should never been seen as a pragmatic event to draw people in. Worship develops a ragtag group of people into an eternal priesthood. We worship because we love Jesus Christ and want to join with the church around us, before us and in front of us in praising the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Worship staunchly stands against the world and says "No!!!

Worship stands in an intense relationship with justice. The Old Testament prophets had two messages for Israel; That their worship was bad and the poor in the streets were neglected. My friend JD has mention that if injustice exists in the streets idolatry is present in the sanctuary. The two are not held in opposition or competition, but a co-eternal dance. Mission and worship are in deep cahoots with each other.

Worship develops us into a people that can face the world head on, and bring the kingdom to it. We can't participate in the missio dei without also participating in the doxo dei.

Related Posts:
Geek to Chic: brand identity as Christians
Hymnaling (and being Methodist)
What drives us in Worship?

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This was originally posted at Levite Camp, a community fostering a theological conversation on worship design.

Renewing our Minds

Levite Camp has released its 6th video in the Worship Seminary series. You can check them all out at the YouTube channel and at Levite Camp. If you are interested in a theological conversation about worship it is a great new community.

Being appropriate in Worship

I have had a few conversations with people over the last few weeks about defining worship, more specifically what makes up worship.  Right around the same time, this video started making its way around the internet.

 

Michael has an interesting ministry. By referring to this, I don't want to poke fun at what he sees as a valid opportunity to share his faith. What we have here is an expression of "praise" centered worship. I am not quite sure of the particular venue for this performance, but this might be the type of thing that is encouraged in the Sunday meeting.

But is it the most appropriate?

That is the question I think we need to ask ourselves constantly as worship designers. It applies to the many expressions of faith that we fill a service with. It can be our choice of music stylings, the addition of a media clip, a dramatic presentation or scripture reading.  Are our choices appropriate towards leading the people of God into a relationship of adoration?

We need to be narrating the saving acts of the Triune God.  We tell stories of his interaction with the world.  We do these things inside a specific context, and often that will be a huge marker of what is considered appropriate.  Culture is not king however.  We can't let these personal choices eclipse what happens in worship.  It is a close dance.

I generally tend to shy away from anything that is directed at an individual or individual action.  If we read the Old Testament stories of Israel in worship, we find the people being led as a group.  They respond as a group, because they know they belong to God.  We are a doxological people, bent on the glory of God alone.  His glory is found in His interaction with us as His children.